Centrifugal air-compressor.



R. H. RICE.

CENTRIFUGAL AIR COMPRESSOR.

APPLICATIOI i FlLED Auc.19. 1912.

1,159;O'94,- v Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Fig. I.

. Inventor. Qichard H. Rice.

W 4 MQN Witnesses:

' 4 UNI E sr A omen.

RICHARD H. RICE, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRICCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF YORK.

CENTRIFUGAL AIR-COMPRESSOR.

setts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CentrifugalAir-Compressors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to centrifugal air compressing machines, and itsobject is to protect the edges of the revolving vanes frominjury byrubbing against the walls of the casing in which the impeller rotates.Theseparts are usually fitted together with a minimum of clearance, inorder to avoid leakage losses. If for any reason the impeller shaftshifts longitudinally,the edges edge view of a vane so'equipped, andFig. 3'

of the vanes on one sideof the impeller are liable to come intodangerous proximity to the walls of the casing and run the risk of'being'bent or broken by scraping along over the surface of said walls.By my invention, I provide a wearing plate of soft metal, .whlch underthe conditions mentioned, will be quickly worn away and leave the vanesfree to revolve as before. The wearing plate may be applied either tothe vanes themselves orto the walls of the casing.

' In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is an axial section of a portionof a centrifugal compressor showing the vanes provided with my wearingplate. Fig. 2 isan is a top plan view on an enlargednscale of a pair ofsuch vanes.

' The compressor has the usual body 1 containing the 'wheel casing 2having walls 3 between which the impeller rotates. A dif fuser 4.surrounds the wheel casing with vanes '5 to guide the air thrown offfrom the impeller. The shaft 6 passes centrally -through the wheelcasing and carries the impeller, which has a web '1 carrying on eachside the vanes 8. Each vane has a curved inner portion 8 to give abetter hold on the air entering through the eye 9 of the casing. Theremainder of the vane is preferably radial or substantially so. Alongeach ed e of the radial portion is secured a thin stri 10 of soft metal,such as brass, lead,

bab itt or other alloy, firmly fastened to the Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Application filed August 19, 1912. Serial No. 715,709. g I v vane byrivets 11 and projecting slightly beyond the edge of said vane and intoclose proximity to the wall of the casing. In case the shaft shiftsaxially, the strip 10 on that edge of the vane which is brought closerto the .wall of the casing will come in contact with said wall, and willquickly be Worn down by rubbing against said wall, without injury to thevane itself.

Inasmuch as the efficiency of the machine depends largely upon theposition of the vanes on the impeller disk, and their accuratemaintenance in such position,it follows that this invention is actually.of considerable importance in the art, in spite of its seemingsimplicity.

In accordance with the,provisions of the patent" statutes, I h-ai'edescribed the principle of operation of my invention, together with the"apparatus which I now consider to represent the bestembodiment thereof;but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the UnitedStates, is

l. The combinationin a centrifugal compressor having a casing and anopen sided impeller designed to run with clos'e clear- M ances, of awear strip of softer material than the impeller vanes-fixed to andprojecting over the edges of the vanes into close proximity to, but notinto contact with the side walls of the casing.

2. The combination in a centrifugal compressor having a casing and anopen sided iinpcner designed to run with close clearances, of wearstrips of relatively thin material as compared to the thickness of thevanes fastened to each side of the vanes and projecting over the outeredges thereof into close proximitv to the side walls of the easing.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of August,1912.

RICHARD II. RICE- VVitnesses':

FRANK G. HAT'rI-n, RALPH L. KREIDLER.

